605 replies to this topic

[Nparker]

Worf-side.

[aastra]

Is this a new generation of wordplay derived from typos? If so, you guys are crushing it. You're going places we've never gone before. But I think I'll need more data before I decide if I like it or not.

[aastra]

Remember back in the day when a small waterfront condo building would be so controversial you could expect non-stop chatter and regular daily updates about it? Pic by JohnnyJayEh from late January...

[aastra]

Store Street side:

 

[Mike K.]

Would 1st or 2nd quarter of 2024 sound about right for completion on this one?

It’s going to be close!

[aastra]

Do my eyes deceive me or is there going to be a large window on the back side of the ground floor space nearest to the Janion? (not shown in my pics below, but if you walk along Store Street you can see what I mean.) I shouldn't get too hopeful but that would sure be nice, if there was a large window on the Store Street side with a view straight through another large window on the water side.

 

 

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[AllEars]

Scaffolding came down on the SW corner of the building revealing the exterior finish.

 

[Mike K.]

Wow!!

[Nparker]

That's some fancy cladding.

[marino]

Wow!!

Wow, indeed-!   

[aastra]

 

That's some fancy cladding.

 

Here's the thing: I like it, but even so, it's still rather ordinary stuff. Except it's sharp looking ordinary stuff. And it's not exactly the same as the cladding on another building right across the street. Plain panel cladding doesn't have to overwhelm every development with plainness and similarity to adjacent developments. There's a wide, wide range of textures, colours, and finishes. Kudos to these guys for browsing through the full catalog instead of going with the flat white, grey, or beige shown on the first page. Jukebox and Escher also dared to be a little different.

[aastra]

That pic by AllEars really demonstrates how a texture on the panels can seem to introduce variation and finer detail. As the light changes throughout the day it will look way more interesting than large plain panels with a flat finish ever could.

[Kyjen]

[Mike K.]

Very good!

What are we thinking for completion?

[aastra]

 

What are we thinking for completion?

 

For completion I imagine they would finish installing all the windows, do some painting inside and out, maybe lay some carpet... that kind of thing.

[Barrrister]

How are presales doing for this one?

[Matt R.]

Pretty good, 95% sold out.

[aastra]

Methinks Mermaid Wharf, The Janion, and The Pearl did not get the memo re: all new condo buildings must look the same.

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Edited by aastra, 27 April 2023 - 11:26 AM.

[G-Man]

Aastra putting the legwork in today. I agree with you. These three buildings look great in their differentiation and also their close density. Hope we see something similar take over the Value Village spot at some point. 

[aastra]

It's an example of how good development and redevelopment tends to happen when things are NOT master-planned and visioned too much, or for too many years in advance. Overplanning tends to produce misfires. Nobody expected Mermaid Wharf when it was first proposed. A lot of people thought it was a crazy idea. Many people criticized the Janion project and were saying it wouldn't work. Just tear the old Janion down, they said. Even the Pearl has had no shortage of critics. And yet the overall result along that waterfront is something that seems genuine and granular and very Victorian. Methinks it demonstrates how 21st-century redevelopment can indeed follow a similar recipe to the development and redevelopment of 100+ years ago that made Victoria what it is. You don't have to turn things upside down. You don't have to aggressively wipe out the old things. You don't have to do any jarring re-invention, or go off in a wildly different direction from what works. You can fix the old things up and fill in the gaps with new stuff. A bit of enhancement here, a bit of elaboration there, but ultimately it's just more of the same Victoria that people enjoy. It's the model that any mature city should follow, because its identity has already been solidly established.

 

I gotta say, the new bridge has inspired me to pay it a visit at least as often as the old bridge, if not more frequently. I was skeptical that anyone could/would ever develop any affection for the new bridge, but it seems I was wrong about that. It's a pleasant scene down there. Although the changes and new developments on either side of the bridge have been major factors in this. We'll never know what a refurbished old JSB with great new stuff on either side could have been like.

 

Unfortunately, the more I find myself enjoying the new bridge, the more I get miffed about those lame bolted-on plates and the clumsy way that repair was addressed.